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Isotope Hydrology of Dripwaters in a Scottish Cave and Implications for Stalagmite Palaeoclimate Research L

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Isotope Hydrology of Dripwaters in a Scottish Cave and Implications for Stalagmite Palaeoclimate Research L Isotope hydrology of dripwaters in a Scottish cave and implications for stalagmite palaeoclimate research L. Fuller, A. Baker, I. J. Fairchild, C. Spötl, A. Marca-Bell, P. Rowe, P. F. Dennis To cite this version: L. Fuller, A. Baker, I. J. Fairchild, C. Spötl, A. Marca-Bell, et al.. Isotope hydrology of dripwaters in a Scottish cave and implications for stalagmite palaeoclimate research. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, European Geosciences Union, 2008, 5 (2), pp.547-577. hal-00298932 HAL Id: hal-00298932 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298932 Submitted on 3 Mar 2008 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 5, 547–577, 2008 Hydrology and www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/5/547/2008/ Earth System HESSD © Author(s) 2008. This work is licensed Sciences 5, 547–577, 2008 under a Creative Commons License. Discussions Papers published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions are under Isotope hydrology of open-access review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences cave dripwaters L. Fuller et al. Isotope hydrology of dripwaters in a Title Page Scottish cave and implications for Abstract Introduction stalagmite palaeoclimate research Conclusions References Tables Figures L. Fuller1, A. Baker1, I. J. Fairchild1, C. Spotl¨ 2, A. Marca-Bell3, P. Rowe3, and ◭ ◮ P. F. Dennis3 ◭ ◮ 1School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK Back Close 2Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria Full Screen / Esc 3School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK Received: 6 December 2007 – Accepted: 27 January 2008 – Published: 3 March 2008 Printer-friendly Version Correspondence to: I. J. Fairchild ([email protected]) Interactive Discussion EGU 547 Abstract HESSD Dripwater hydrology and hydrogeochemistry is particularly useful to constrain the meaning of speleothem palaeoclimate archives, for example using δ18O signatures. 5, 547–577, 2008 Here, we calibrate the relationship between δ18O in precipitation, percolation waters 5 and contemporary calcite deposits, at Tartair cave, Sutherland, NW Scotland, an At- Isotope hydrology of lantic site sensitive to regional changes both of temperature and precipitation. Monthly cave dripwaters precipitation displayed a 7.1‰ range in δ18O, a negative linear relationship with rainfall amount, and no correlation with temperature. Autogenically-derived cave percolation L. Fuller et al. waters show little variation in δ18O during the same period and their annual weighted 10 mean is the same as that of the local precipitation. This evidence together with hydro- logical data and electroconductivity values indicates that percolation waters are well Title Page 18 mixed and dominated by stored water. Calculated values of δ O of calcite deposited Abstract Introduction in this cave environment indicate that the cave deposits are forming close to isotopic equilibrium and kinetic effects are negligible. Comparison of a high-resolution δ18O sta- Conclusions References 15 lagmite record with the instrumental record of climate indicates that isotopically heavy Tables Figures values are reflective of relatively cold, dry conditions (and vice-versa for warm, wet condition) and hence that stalagmite oxygen isotopes provide an appropriate means of ◭ ◮ investigating the palaeoclimate in this location. ◭ ◮ 1 Introduction Back Close 20 The hydrological behaviour of small water volumes becomes particularly important Full Screen / Esc when they feed, and hence control the composition of growing calcareous deposits (speleothems) in karstic cavities. Speleothems are recognised as important continen- Printer-friendly Version tal archives of palaeoenvironmental information: they can be accurately dated using U-series techniques and their subterranean location means that they can accumulate Interactive Discussion 18 16 25 undisturbed for thousands of years. Their O/ O ratios can be used to reconstruct climate, although the rationale used can sometimes be complex and in need of further EGU testing (McDermott, 2004; Fairchild et al., 2006a). Major long-term shifts in δ18O can 548 sometimes be shown to be directly controlled by changing climate systems, indepen- dent of details of the cave environment (e.g. Wang et al., 2001). More usually, in order HESSD for this isotopic information to be utilized, an understanding of how these surface cli- 5, 547–577, 2008 mate signals are transmitted from meteoric precipitation to a speleothem via the soil 5 and groundwater system is essential (Fairchild et al., 2006a; Mickler et al., 2006). There are two major forcing factors external to the cave environment which can Isotope hydrology of change the 18O/16O ratio of calcite deposits: a change in the isotopic composition cave dripwaters of the precipitation feeding the speleothem, or a change in cave temperature. The oxy- 18 ff L. Fuller et al. gen isotopic composition of precipitation (δ Oppt) in di erent regions can be controlled 10 by the extent of temperature-related Rayleigh fractionation in the atmosphere, or may inversely correlate with the amount of rainfall, or show more complex effects, includ- Title Page ing controls by moisture source (Rozanski et al., 1993; Hoffman et al., 1998; Mook, 2000). The western seaboard of Europe displays complex controls such that changes Abstract Introduction in δ18O over time cannot be predicted from first principles because the relationship Conclusions References 15 between isotopic composition, synoptic weather processes, and climatic modes have been incompletely explored. For example, in the UK there is normally a relationship Tables Figures between seasonality of temperature and summer and winter δ18O signatures (Darling and Talbot, 2003), but such a correlation does not imply a simple causality (Treble et ◭ ◮ al., 2005a). The second control on calcite 18O/16O ratio is cave temperature which, 20 away from the entrance, is very close to the mean annual air temperature (MAT) out- ◭ ◮ side the cave (Wigley and Brown, 1976). An increase in cave temperature will lead to Back Close calcite becoming isotopically lighter. 18 16 Speleothem O/ O is also susceptible to local forcing factors. Processes such as Full Screen / Esc transpiration from vegetation above the cave (Williams and Fowler, 2002) and vegeta- 25 tion change over time (Baldini et al., 2005), evaporation of soil waters (Bar-Matthews Printer-friendly Version et al., 1996; Denniston et al., 1999), and mixing within the karstic aquifer (Williams and Fowler, 2002; Yonge et al., 1985) have all been shown to play a role in changing Interactive Discussion the isotopic composition between rainfall and the emerging cave drip waters. The influ- ence of the karst system upon drip hydrology in turn affects the majority of geochemical EGU 549 signals preserved in the subsequently deposited stalagmite calcite, the route taken by the percolating water being of primary importance. Physical characteristics of cave HESSD percolation waters are diverse (e.g. Gunn, 1981; Mangin, 1975; Atkinson, 1977) and 5, 547–577, 2008 can be classified for example in terms of mean and variance of discharge (Friederich 5 and Smart, 1982). Conceptually this can be related to varying inputs from conduit, frac- ture and matrix porosity in a triple-porosity aquifer (Tooth and Fairchild, 2003; Fairchild Isotope hydrology of et al., 2006b). Nevertheless, the biphase (air-water) nature of the feeding system, cave dripwaters pressure variations, and geometrical complexities result in significant non-linear be- haviours of dripwaters (Destombes et al., 1997; Genty and Deflandre, 1998; Baker and L. Fuller et al. 10 Brunsdon, 2003), including inter-annual variability (Baldini et al., 2006). The hydrol- ogy of stalagmite feeding percolation waters must be monitored in order to understand Title Page the nature of the percolation water and its evolutionary pathway (reservoirs, residence times, response to periods of heavy rainfall such as flow switching, or drought), as well Abstract Introduction as identifying any offset in composition from that of atmospheric precipitation. Conclusions References 15 Few studies have monitored cave systems in sufficient detail to understand and correctly interpret the controlling influences, although it has been found that in mid- Tables Figures latitudes cave drip waters generally reflect the mean annual isotopic composition of the precipitation in the local area (Caballero et al., 1996; Williams and Fowler, 2002; Yonge ◭ ◮ et al., 1985). Where drip discharge varies little and seepage flow can be inferred, no 18 20 seasonal variation in δ O is found, whereas when a component of fracture-fed flow is ◭ ◮ present, such variations should be present (e.g. Fairchild et al., 2006a, 2006b) and in- Back Close deed have been identified in both dripwaters (e.g. van Beynen and Febbroriello, 2006) and speleothems (Treble et al., 2005b). Full Screen / Esc In the study
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